diff --git a/python/private/pypi/whl_extract.bzl b/python/private/pypi/whl_extract.bzl
index 75c5686cb8..506be05481 100644
--- a/python/private/pypi/whl_extract.bzl
+++ b/python/private/pypi/whl_extract.bzl
@@ -19,6 +19,23 @@ def whl_extract(rctx, *, whl_path, logger):
         output = install_dir_path,
         supports_whl_extraction = rp_config.supports_whl_extraction,
     )
+
+    # Fix permissions on extracted files. Some wheels have files without read permissions set,
+    # which causes errors when trying to read them later.
+    os_name = repo_utils.get_platforms_os_name(rctx)
+    if os_name != "windows":
+        # On Unix-like systems, recursively add read permissions to all files
+        # and ensure directories are traversable (need execute permission)
+        result = repo_utils.execute_unchecked(
+            rctx,
+            op = "Fixing wheel permissions {}".format(whl_path),
+            arguments = ["chmod", "-R", "a+rX", str(install_dir_path)],
+            logger = logger,
+        )
+        if result.return_code != 0:
+            # It's possible chmod is not available or the filesystem doesn't support it.
+            # This is fine, we just want to try to fix permissions if possible.
+            logger.warn(lambda: "Failed to fix file permissions: {}".format(result.stderr))
     metadata_file = find_whl_metadata(
         install_dir = install_dir_path,
         logger = logger,